“You cannot assert yourself by destroying others,” he said, adding that doing so leads to “more violence and division”.

“Violence eventually makes a most just cause into a lie,” the pontiff said.

“Unity is not born, nor will be born, from neutralising or silencing differences,” he added.

Image copyrightGetty Images

Image caption
The pontiff delivered an open-air mass in Temuco

While thousands gathered to hear Pope Francis speak at the airfield in Temuco, which is 800km (500 miles) south of Santiago, his visit has not been welcomed by everyone.

Ahead of his arrival in the region, Chilean police said that two Catholic churches were set on fire, along with three helicopters belonging to forestry companies.

Earlier this week, several churches in Chile were damaged when they were attacked with fire bombs or vandalised.

Flyers were also left at the properties, warning that the next target would be the Pope.

No group has said it was responsible for the attacks, but Mapuche activists have previously targeted churches to highlight their discontent with the way the government and church have treated them in their long-running campaign to secure the return of their ancestral lands.